Solarii Interuptus
by MissAlisterCroft
Summary: Alex and Lara, shes patched him up.. of course Solarii Interuptus will ensue.
1. Chapter 1

Alright, so I've got this and my Alistair FF up.. I'm trying to figure out how I want to write Lara.. its a little off on both. I'm hoping if I play the games again I'll pick up some Lara Language :) For the 2013 Lara its definitely new to have stabbing and swearing.. Miss Croft you have picked up some interesting habits on this Island.. little tattered and torn but basically stronger. :) Alas, heres my attempt at hooking you guys into a story you might want to read.

Disclaimer: Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics own this wonderful series now. I'm deeply jealous. :( I make not a single ounce of anything. My currency is reviews. I thrive on nice people out there in Internet Land reading my stuff :)

* * *

'Thank you, Lara.'

She offered him a quick smile and went back to working on his hand.

'I know with all you've been through this doesn't seem like a lot.. thanks for caring'

'It's okay'

_No, it's not okay.._

Alex let his mind wander over the fact she would probably never return his affections. She was fast becoming a woman formidable. While he was.. what was Alex becoming? Nothing.

That's what he'd always viewed himself as: A Nothing.

Nothing Lara would ever be interested in.

Nothing Lara would ever settle for being with.

Nothing Lara would notice for all his trying.

Nothing Lara couldn't live on without.

Sam had been among those who'd tried to bolster up his self esteem before they left for this trip. Telling him that he was a nice guy, and contrary to popular belief.. girls didn't always go for the bad boy. That most of them wanted a guy like Alex. He'd found that a little hard to believe. Especially now. Lara was bound to realize she was way beyond a guy like him to reach.

'There..'

She tugged the ends of the fabric softly, neatly tucking them into the folds over his palm so that they didn't unravel further.

'All patched up, ready to hack through the jungle and rescue any damsels in distress.' She smiled warmly.

'Yeah' Alex muttered 'With my luck they'll have already rescued themselves by the time I get there.' his gaze shifted from Lara quickly to the ground with a small smile across his features.

Lara frowned at that remark.

'Alex, you can't keep thinking of yourself like- '

Thunk!

An arrow whizzed by Alex's head and lodged right into the tree trunk next to him. It startled him into scrambling from his purchase on the fallen log falling straight onto his behind.

Whilst Lara however, accustom to the constant fray, had moved swiftly to grab and ready her makeshift bow and arrows she'd left lying against the tree in case an attack, like this, should occur.

She had notched an arrow and was holding the bow steady. Aimed directly at the head of the assailant.

Releasing the arrow as a warning shot she quickly readied another as that one barely grazed the side of his face. The Scavenger exchanged a worried look between the arrow now stuck in the tree next to him and the girl who had another prepared to fire, who knew where it would end up this time.

'You would be wise not to test my patience..' she warned with conviction flowing through her words.

'I will not willingly miss my mark a second time..'

The Scavenger shot his hands into the air. Perfectly okay with giving up. He decided against testing her.. a wise choice.

* * *

Whew! There you go.. I hope the Alex comment was cute as well as capturing the Peeta-esque talent he has for self deprecating humor. I have trouble writing Alex.. he didn't have nearly enough time in the game.. I won't call spoilers for anything in the game. Best to let you discover it the way Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix wanted it to be done :) Let me know, is it worth continuing?


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Alright, here we go :) I had 2 very nice reviews for my first chapters of two of my stories.. However, since Tomb Raider is a little higher on my priority list.. Alex will be getting attention first. :) I'm a little unsure if I'm going to have a continuing story or little hop around. I work better with no set plot line unless the story is already worked out in my head.. I hate those meaningless loops when people can't figure out where to go.. hence why I won't venture there unless stated in the AN. I think for this.. I'll post one in a different scene and see how people respond to that. If you wanted a continuing story.. that'll take me a while to work into an idea. If you want more frequent updates, I'll be jumping around to various one shot scenarios that come into my head.

- My New Page Break-

'Come here.'

Brown eyes looked up to scan over the features of the speaker.

'N-No, .. I'm ok-ay' She managed the breathe out as her teeth chattered audibly.

The light rain that had plagued the Island for a while now plunked down softly against the rocks they were now huddled against trying to seek out some form of shelter.

'Don't think for a second that I buy that, Lara.' Alex scolded her gently.

The severity of the situation somewhat lessened by the playful gleam in his eyes.

She had managed to get a small fire going with the last of her matches and some wet wood she had also gathered. The least he felt he could offer was to try keep her warm.

She had done so much.. she was so worn out.

She didn't respond. Only pulled her arms closer against her freezing, wet form.

'Lara, come on, .. you have to be cold.' He immediately cringed. Squeezing his eyes shut tight.

_Of course she's freezing, dumb-ass.. she doesn't have a coat.._

He wished he could retract the statement, but she answered him.

'Y-Yeah, .. I am v-very, ve-very cold.' She agreed shuddering violently.

He let the breath go he hadn't realized was sucked in quietly.

_Did she just agree with me..?_

Yes.. she just said something..

Say something you moron..

She looked up at him, eyes pleading with him to say something more.

'Come here..?' he asked again gently.

She seemed hesitant.. again.

'Am I really that unlikable?' He gave her the most charming smile he could muster at the moment.

She barked out a shaky laugh. 'N-No.' She tried to say firmly. She moved her hands to the ground beside her and made moves to right her self.

_Oh god, .. she is __**actually**__ coming over __**here**__.._

His posture stiffened as she walked over on her tired and sore feet, legs shaking the entire way over.

God she was tired. Too tired to even care about being warm anymore.. almost.

His breathing became even as she turned around.

His heart beat faster as she lowered herself down.

Alex's arm automatically shot out to help steady her as she took her place beside him and adjusted herself under the arm once it extended around her.

Lara's head fell back against his right shoulder and he heard her sigh in obvious relief. She seemed content.

She stared over head at the canopy of trees that protected them from the elements. Mostly. Little drips were still falling down onto her skin. Little paths of dirt streaked down her face, it almost looked as though she might be crying.

He knew she wasn't though. She was too tough for that now. Although, nobody would hold it against her if she did. With all she'd been though, she deserved a good cry.

She felt her eyelids becoming heavier and heavier with each passing moment. The placid atmosphere around them in the forest only adding to the deception that everything was safe for the moment.

Fighting it for a few more times before finally letting them slip closed.

It had been quiet for a while now.

'L- .. Lara?' Alex ventured quietly. 'You awake?' He was mindful of the gaping wound on her side as he squeezed her gently with the arm still slung about her waist.

He still didn't know how she managed to get that awful wound closed, he wasn't sure he wanted to know either. She was alive and that was all that mattered to him.

'Mm..'

He stilled.

'Hey..' he replied softly as her eyes drifted open.

'M'Hi..' She stretched lightly 'How long was I out?'

'A long – long time..' He replied dryly.

She laughed 'Sorry, your arm must be completely asleep.' She made to sit up.

'It's okay.' He assured her pulling back a bit unsure.

To his relief she leaned back onto him with no resistance.

It went quiet again

This time it was her who broke the silence.

'.. You .. like .. ' she mumbled.

_What.._

'What?'

She turned as much as she could to look at him and repeated louder.

'You are not unlikeable..'

He didn't know what to say. He hadn't expected her to respond to him.

'How do you know?' He teased, finally able to speak.

That got him a small, but sincere laugh. He smiled.

He was suddenly aware of the presence of her hand on the front of his shirt, fisting the fabric firmly.

'I like you..' she replied softly 'That's how I know..'

His eyes met hers.

'I .. really.. like you' she breathed leaning closer. If he'd been more aware of his surroundings he'd have known she wasn't shivering anymore.

'You aren't unlikable either..' he choked out.

They both laughed at that.

'Alex, .. please just kiss me.'

His eyes searched hers.

_She really wants me to kiss her.. _

She seemed to sense his trepidation.

'It's okay, Alex. I'm being serious.' She tilted her head up slightly to make firm eye contact with him.

Every time he heard her say his name he felt his heart skip a beat. He moved the hand that wasn't wrapped around her waist to cup her jaw softly.

His eyes drifted closed as he pressed his lips to hers softly.

He felt her pull the hand still holding the front of his shirt toward her, successful in pulling him firmer against her.

The kiss lasted for a few more moments before he broke it reluctantly and started to pull away.

He would have seen her following close behind had his eyes been open, but all he felt was her lips back on his again.

His lips now moving softly against his own.

Oh god this was great. He was kissing Lara Croft!

He'd have loved to enjoy this moment forever, but no sooner had the thought passed through his mind had someone come crashing through the bushes.

'LARA! ALEX! Where ar- ..' The voice stopped.

It was Dr. Whitman. Wonderful.

The pair separated from each other reluctantly. Turning to look at the intrusion with what both hoped was a resounding death glare.

'What is it, Doctor?' Lara spat out bitterly. Whether it was from being interrupted or just general distaste for the man Alex didn't know. He knew his resentment was being intruded upon.

It's – uh.. it's the Scavenger you guys brought back yesterday.' he paused '.. He got away.' looking down the moment he finished his thought. Clearly uncomfortable with knowing what he'd just walked in on. The ground wouldn't have interested otherwise. They knew it wasn't shame for what he'd let happen

Lara was on her feet before Alex even knew Whitman had said anything.

'What?! You were supposed to be watching him! How could he get away? He'll go after Same!'

'You don't think I know that?' He stopped staring at the forest floor and his eyes locked on hers.

'If you did you would have paid more attention!'

'I was paying attention!'

'Clearly you weren't paying enough attention if he got away.' Alex suggested.

Lara shot him a quick sympathetic look before turning back to Whitman.

'No sense in fighting about it.. let's just go get him and regroup.. we'll work out things from there.'

He nodded 'Yes, that's a good idea, Lara.'

She sent him a quick nod.

He stood there.

'Well be there in a moment.' Lara shot him a glance, hoping it communicated that she wanted him to leave them alone/

He understood. It was Lara-speak for _Move the hell away from here before I pummel you out.._

'Right, .. I'll uh- see you back at camp.' He turned on his heels and left.

Lara let out a quiet sigh after he was gone. She turned to Alex and held out her hand.

He pulled himself upright and was surprised when she didn't immediately let go. She gave it a firm squeeze before whispering low enough that anyone still nearby couldn't hear.

'We'll figure this out later?' She looked and sounded as hopeful as he felt.

'Yeah, yeah, of course.' His face lit up in a smile.

She returned the gesture 'Sounds good. Now let's go find that bastard before he finds Sam.'

- Low Tech Page Break-

AN: S'okay.. I'm thinking next chapter Lara teaches Alex how to work the bow. I mean she is practically Katniss already, right? :) It makes sense since you can play MP and Alex uses the bow.. that's actually kinda what inspired the next chapter. I play the game and scenarios pop into my head. It's my inspiration method :) Hope that sounds interesting? I'm also wanted to do something with the cave scene to express my bitterness at Reyes. Who's with me?! :D So I guess that's where things will go. On the hunt for the Scavenger Lara will prep Alex a bit before hand and then she'll rescue them from the caves.. it looks like this is turning into a story with a purpose all on its own.

I also know that in the new game her eyes are Blue-Grey.. but I grew up on a Lara with Brown Eyes. So that's the way I want her to be in my Story.. plus, I loved Lara Croft growing up.. she made me proud to have Brown Eyes.. :) Review. Let me know whats up and whats down.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Alright. So I've decided this Chapter will be teaching Alex how to use the bow. Seems only logical since in MP he can use it.. and only due to your good skill you got as a result of practicing using Croft.. he is magnificent with the tool as well in the game. :) So I figured it more plausible that he gets taught by her at some point.. etc, etc I just wanted to do more fluff :P And since GuardEzio is such a good reviewer (I officially dedicate this Chapter and the next to to you!) .. this Chapter will come up in two parts with some Whitman bashing.. verbal and physical :) I wasn't sure I wanted to throw punches but.. I figured out a way to get back at him without resigning (I feel like there's a better word?) to hitting.. just yet. Maybe when he's done something to REALLY deserve it :) Lara Croft kicks ass, so why can't she kick Whitman's? She has the talent :)

-Low Tech Page Break Until I Figure This Out-

'No, No. Alex, like this.'

She demonstrated the technique for him. Notching an arrow on the string and pulling it back to take aim at a bird sitting on a branch less than 20 feet away.

She was trying to teach him how to hunt using the small Rabbits and Birds that were abundant on this Island.

He, however, was not so keen on using them as target practice.

He felt the world get fuzzy as her arrow collided with the poor creature effectively ending its time on the Earth.

Lucky bastard was getting off the Island. It wasn't fair.' Lara, .. I – I don't th-think, .. that.. ' he stopped. He never finished his thought. His stomach answered for him as it returned the small breakfast he'd consumed only an hour or so before the lesson.

_This is a good idea.. _

'Oh, Alex..' Lara sighed and set her weapon down on the side of the tree opposite him and took a few steps to stand by his side. She really did sympathize with him on this. It was gross, but if they wanted to live it had to be done.

She patted and rubbed his back lightly, she tried to be as soothing as she could. Lara hadn't ever needed to really comfort someone. Sam always did the comforting.

_Oh Sam, I really wish you were here.._

'I think – I'm okay.' Alex announced as he leaned back up. He almost immediately doubled over again

'Ahh, – Okay, not so much then..' he spat bitterly, coughing a few more times in the hopes of completely getting rid of his meal this time.

'It's okay, Alex. Take your time.' Lara spoke quietly. She took this moment to observe the scene around them.

It was quiet. Nothing much was happening at camp. Roth and Grim were trying to mentally escape the Island and were talking Sports Scores from the last game they had listened to aboard the Endurance. They seemed happy. Although probably not. It was nice for them to fake it at least. Morale around the camp needed to be better.

Jonah was making something for lunch already. He was such a good cook no one complained that food wouldn't last too long at this rate. Especially not if it was going to be forest floor decoration anyways.

She grimaced at the thought of Alex retching next to her. It wasn't his fault. She bore no ill-will. Some people just didn't take to the forest life. Considering her up-bringing Lara wasn't exactly so sure herself how she'd come to be okay with it.

And Whitman.. Whitman was..

_Wait, where is he.._

She scanned over the camp once more and having no success in locating him she decided to do a more thorough search herself.

She pressed her hand briefly against his shoulder letting him know she was departing for a moment.

'Alex, I'll be right back.. I need to check on something, okay?' she smiled looking down at him briefly.  
He didn't make eye contact but he removed his glasses and wiped his forehead before shutting his eyes tight leaning back over again, bracing his hands on his knees. 'O-Okay, ..'

She removed her hand from him and started to walk off toward the Base Camp.

_Where has that old sod wandered off to now.. _

Lara made her way through the boxes littered with stuff they had managed to salvage from the wreckage left on shore of previous Boats that had the misfortune of coming across this Island.

Still no sign of Whitman.

She asked the members of the camp if any of them had seen the Doctor wandering about.

Reyes was the least amused. Assuring Lara that 'If that dumb bastard has wandered off again. He can fend for himself.'

Lara couldn't resist a smile a that. Reyes and her disagreed about a lot. This was one thing that they both adamantly agreed on.

Lara continued to wander about the camp until she was completely sure she'd checked every place they'd established as Camp Territory.

_He must be outside the boundaries then.. typical..  
_  
She briefly entertained the idea of dropping it and going back to Alex and continuing the lesson.. but something kept tugging her forward.

She started making her way through the thick underbrush by intuition. Swatting the branches hanging low out of her way.

After a good five minutes of trekking through the trees Lara found him.

As she ventured out of the trees cautiously she took note of the fact that he hadn't noticed her yet. She decided to use this to her advantage for the moment. It was obvious by his position hunched over whatever he was doing.. his intent was secretive.

She approached him on nimble feet, barely making any sound against the forest floor as she crept up on him.

What did he have in his hands? That was –

_Alex's notebook.._

She recognized it from before the Voyage. All the students on the Expedition had been given a Leather bound notebook to write in. It had been made suggested that each person do something unique to the book to identify it as their belonging.

Sam had put Stickers all over the front of hers. It was covered in bright characterizations of little animals. It suited her personality, she liked silly things like that.

Alex had Sam help him glue what looked like a schematic for some sort of technological device on the front of his. It worked. He liked to fix and modify various things. He was quite good at it too.

From Lara's vantage point just behind Whitman, it looked like he had Alex's Journal in his hands.

'Whitman, what are you up to?'

-Page Break, Whew This Is Sucky-

AN: Whew! You do not wanna be caught in any of Lara's friend's personals :) Next Chapter is going to be published.. immediately.. then you probably won't hear from me until next Sunday. Life takes presidency.. sorry guys :( I may not be on.. but rest assured that I will be writing in my time away. :) As I said before. I dedicate this to GuardEzio because she/he and I were talking and it came up how much we both have extreme distaste toward Whitman and I kinda took what was exchanged and made it into a prompt. I wanted to have her teach Alex how to use a bow, but writing a whole Chapter about that was boring and proved difficult. This works better in my opinion.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: So my way of saying sorry for these Chapters being so short is to publish two of them :P Like I said, I have other things that need attention. I would love to sit here all day and write and daydream but.. that's just not feasible :) I'll be busy in my head thinking of where next to go.. play the game and see if anything strikes me as a possibility for a path to an idea. This is Part 2 of these Chapters. Sorry the other one is so short. I think I make up for it here :P I write without proof-reading or re-writing so I type it all up without checking anything.. forgive my missed comma's or grammar mistakes.

-Page Breaker-

He nearly jumped sky high at her unexpected intrusion.

'L-Lara!' He bolted upright in an instant. He tried to shove the book into his bag and shuffle around as if he were previously doing something uninteresting. Merely taking in a moment to observe the nature around him 'Well, I was – you see, I found -'

'Alex's notebook.' Lara stated flatly. Clearly unamused as she motioned to the object in question just poking out of the top of his backpack.

'Ye-yes, well, I thought he might be looking for it, .. I found it -'

'In his bag on the beach.'

His eyes connected with hers as he took a moment to study her.

It wouldn't be easy getting out of this one.

'No, it was up here in the forest. I'd seen him come up here the other day and I thought he was acting suspicious.' he announced proudly as if he'd discovered something important.

Lara scoffed.

'The only one acting suspicious out here is you.' she stated and began to make careful, calculated movements toward the man.

'Now come on, Lara.' he began backing up a little. Unsure of what she intended by her coming closer to him. He felt a bit like a prey animal being hunted by a predator. It normally didn't end too well for the prey animals in these cases.

'Every-ones been a little off since we've got here. It hasn't exactly been the easiest time you see.' he made an elaborate gesture with his hand and slapped it back on his bag.

Effectively bringing attention back to the item in question.

'Yes, ..' she let her eyes drift lower to scan the ground beneath his feet.

She was looking for something in specific. Something there were usually an abundance of on the Island.

Her eyes rose to meet his worried ones again.

'I agree, not every one has had an easy time of it.'

He stopped at her next words.

'None of it has been made any easier by you.'

It was his turn to scoff. 'Oh, and what's that supposed to mean, Miss Croft?'

Lara advanced on him as she spoke 'It means you've been nothing but trouble since we've been stranded here. You never listen to what anyone says, you do what you want! You leave without telling us where you're going or what you're up to.. if anybody here is up to something I'd say it'd be you.'

She stopped only a mere 2 feet away from him.

'You haven't had a success in years. Nothing new. No amazing finds to credit to your name. You are desperate to find something here and you're willing to put us in bloody danger to accomplish it! It's unacceptable, Whitman.' She took a breath and looked down to the side.

There it was sitting plain as day!

_Found one.._

She didn't let her eyes linger on it too long for fear his interest might drift to it as well. She looked back at him.

'Now you're willing to even invade our bloody personal space too! That's private, Whitman. You have no business reading anything of Alex's.'

As she spoke she resumed her journey toward him again in a successful attempt at herding him toward the object.

'You're a washed up, pathetic excuse for a human. If you keep going on like this it won't be the Solarii you have to watch out for anymore, it'll be **me**.'she stated the last word firmly as she took her last step forward, hoping to scare him into a sudden movement.

It worked.

'Lara – AHH!'

His body was suddenly snapped to the side and pulled to suspend upside down as he thrashed about helplessly like a fish on a line.

'WHAT the –?! LARA!'

She held up her hands in mock surrender. 'I didn't do anything, that was all you and your discovery.'

'You KNEW this would happen!' he accused.

She let a smirk grace her features. 'So? I didn't push you into it. You wandered right in on your own. Serves you right. A true Explorer would have had a more keen eye for details.'

He continued his vain attempts to free himself.

'Would you just – Please help me down? I can't reach the pulley.'

She shook her head 'No, I think this serves as an effective time out. At least we'll all know where to find you now.' she quipped as she walked closer.

She maneuvered her hand across his book-bag fighting off his flailing hands a few times before she reached her goal. Unloosening the flap she jumped back as the contents of the bag spilled onto the ground below him. A few items unceremoniously dropping onto his head as they fell from the confines.

'Serves you right you bastard..' she mumbled as he made some unappreciative noises about the whole situation.

She retrieved Alex's book from the pile.

Something else caught her eye.

It was a relic. An Artifact of some sort that looked fairly innocent. A Mask? Perhaps it would prove beneficial.

'You're hiding valuable information and tools from the group too, Doctor? You record is getting darker by the minute..' she picked up a pack of matches.

Maybe she'd teach Alex to shoot flaming arrows.. at Whitman..

That was a nice thought. She didn't allow herself to dwell on it too long and made herself focus on the task at hand still to be dealt with.

'Now, Whitman..' she squatted down so she was eye level with him.

His attention focused back on her.

'If I ever find you doing something detrimental to the groups well being.. I'll leave you here in one of these traps for those damn Scavengers to gut and salvage. Am I understood at all?'

He nodded his head vigorously 'Y-Yes, I understand.'

She didn't buy it.

She briefly considered leaving him here. It wouldn't be too hard to explain to the others back at Camp why she'd left him strung up by his boots.

She sighed and closed her eyes as she shook her head before lifting herself back up into a stand. She looked at the pulley and then drew her Pistol.

One shot and he was falling.

He landed with a loud thunk, tumbling across all his possessions as he scrambled upright and backward, putting as much distance as he could between him and Lara.

They watched each-other for a few moments before she made the first move.

'Don't think I'm going to forget about this and everything will be fine from now on. Rest assured that I'll be noticing every time you think you'll sneak off unnoticed.'

She made firm eye contact. She pulled the book in closer to her side. 'This stays in Alex's bag.'

He nodded.

'This goes to Roth, he'll know what to do with it.' She was of course referring to the Carved Mask.

'B—But, ..'

'Whitman, this isn't a negotiation. When Roth asks me how I got it, I'm going to tell him the complete truth. I let you down, but you don't deserve any more than that. You're going to have to explain yourself.'

He shut his mouth and nodded again.

'Fine. Be back at Camp soon.' she ordered.

She didn't look back once at the Doctor's form bunched up on the ground as he silently watched her retreating form.

It felt like ages before she made it back to the camp.

'Where you been, girl?' Roth's eyes met hers, worry evident in his features.

'Just out and about looking for this and that.' she unhooked the Mask from under her elbow and handed it to he and Grim to examine. 'Whitman found that, he wants to talk to you about it.'

'Really?' Roth questioned looking it over 'Don't buy it for a second that the almighty explorer would share resources on anything.' he handed it to Grimm for his chance to see it.

'Don't buy it at all either. There's a more interesting story regarding that.' They both looked up at her.

'Whitman will be along to explain it shortly.' she assured them with a small nod and a smile.

'Aye, I'll get a fire goin' then, seems like a proper occasion.' he nudged Roth in the ribs, the two shared a good natured laugh before Grimm returned his gaze to Lara's 'Good job, Lass. We need all the eyes we can get on th' good ole' Doctor.'

Lara brightened a bit at Grim's Scottish accent. It always made things sound more fierce than they should. She knew Grim was joking about the fire. Although she had no doubt he'd love nothing more than to incinerate Whitman.

Her flaming arrow idea had accomplished the same thought. They couldn't do anything that severe just yet. First, they needed answers.

She looked up to some noise at the edge of the camp. Whitman had decided to return promptly after all.  
Most likely in a rush to see if he could convince them to give the Mask back. If he wanted it that bad, she trusted Roth to know to keep a firm hold on it. If he was going to be this desperate to get it back, it had to be of value.

'Doctor, ..' Roth nodded to the seat in front of him 'Sit down, we need to have a good long talk.'

'Aye, you'll not be goin' any where for a while now.' Grim chimed in as he took a seat next to Roth.

Lara watched the scene beginning to unfold before her before she remembered Alex.

'I'm going to go get Alex. I left him out in the woods a few minutes ago.'

'Find him, Lara. Bring him back, its almost lunch and the day is young, we need to get a move on.' Roth instructed.

She nodded before making her way back to the clearing she was teaching Alex to shoot in. Carefully tucking the notebook in the back waistline of her pants in attempt to hide it. She only needed it out of view for a short time.

'Alex? Alex I'm sorry I left for so lo – what have you done?' She asked as a smile spread across her features while she appraised what he'd managed to do in her absence.

He shot her back a beaming smile 'I set up a target I don't mind shooting.' he announced proudly.

He had been determined.

He managed to set up a make-shift log tilted on its end and used some paper from his backpack to draw a primitive set of circles to represent a target.

'That's incredible, Alex.' she praised his creativity.

'Thanks! Look, I even think I'm getting better..'

She waited patiently while he fumbled around with an arrow before finally getting it seated against the string. He pulled it back a bit awkwardly, taking his time and trying to line up the arrow to the Target.

She'd give him points for that. He was getting a bit better.

He released the arrow and it connected with the intended target. Not quite on match, but it was an improvement. He was on his way to getting much, much better.

'Nice! Good job, Alex! That's impressive.' she applauded his efforts as he took a small bow.

He retrieved the arrows from the board and looked back at her.

'Where'd you go off to?' He questioned.

'I had a feeling something might be wrong.' She quickly finished the rest of her statement when she saw the panicked look cross his face 'But, Roth and Grimm are dealing with it now.'

He nodded. Still not looking entirely convinced, but thankfully he let it go.

She suddenly remembered her other purpose here. 'Roth says lunch is almost ready, you feel up to it?'

'I think I could eat..' he looked hopeful.

'Let's head back to Camp then.' she agreed and fell into step beside him as they carried the remnants of their Archery Session back to the Base. She'd have to find a way to slip the Journal back into his bag unnoticed when they returned. She was sure an opportunity would present itself.

They fell into some small talk along the way.

'So I think we'll try fire arrows next. That way you won't even have to gut the poor creature. Just cook and serve right there!'

'Oh, Lara -'

-Forgive My Absolute SUCK Page Breaker Until I Figure This Out-

AN: Hehe :) Never cross Lara.. she knows where the Scavengers lay their traps in hopes to catch themselves something good :) I played the game a bit last night and I kept getting caught up by the traps.. then it hit me 'WAIT! An idea! o.O' I kept scribbling notes while playing. It gets a little bothersome but it ends out alright :) I just have ideas that flood my head and if I don't stop and write them I never remember them and then I drive myself crazy trying to recreate the scenario in which I thought about them. I'm sure you can tell my home is full of bits of paper :) Hope you guys find these entertaining. I thought it was a nice touch that in the game Alex never finds out Lara reads his Diary.. Alex never knows Lara saved his notes :) Of course I'll still have her read it at a later Chapter. Maybe I'll even change the outcome :O I thought it was about time to mention some of the other characters and bring them into play too. I know it didn't have much Lara/ Alex but since it kinda needed to be about Dumb-ass. I still managed to work him in there :P Rest assured. I intend fluff to come soon. Thank you GuardEzio for inspiring me to write this! :) You've been the only steady reviewer I have! :P That was all for you! :) Any more characters you don't really care for? I'm sure we could work something out, a hah :)


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Okay, this Chapter has another nod to GuardEzio.. a little mention of something that bothers us both. Nothing against people who like it! It's just not my thing. It worked with the situation and well.. that's it. It worked well :P I love the idea, it fits. So since I left it at a nice low point.. I'm going to cheat and go to where I want to be for the story. I had no sound on my computer for a while.. thank the person who posted Walk-through with dialogue readout enabled. :) I don't like listening to that section much anyway.. the prisoners yelling scares the living daylights out of me when I play by myself. For the sake of speeding things up a bit I jumped at one point directly to the cage.. it was a lot of stuff to write and I just wanted to get there XD

-Fear My Awesomely Dramatic Page Break-

'I don't think she made the fall.'

'Let's get down there. Come on!'

_That was the voice of one of the Scavengers.._

Lara waded her way through the.. blood, bones and mutilated body parts until she reached the point where solid land was visible.

Drips from the ceiling of the cavern startled her. It wasn't the most welcoming of situations after all. The Cave was one of the many Fortresses of the Solarii.

Roth and Lara had lost contact with the rest of the Endurance Crew and had decided to backtrack their actions to hopefully locate them.

The Geothermal Caverns steam vents were visible up ahead. How was she supposed to get past this?

A small coughing fit brought Lara's attention to the fact that these were indeed 'Some kind of natural gas..' she wondered aloud 'probably flammable..'

She didn't know to whom she was mentioning this. Lara found it useful sometimes to talk things through to herself.

Notching her arrow she drew the string back with the lighter in her hand and took a few steps away for good measure. No need to ignite herself after all.

There was a loud explosion that followed the release. Lara started to advance, foolishly thinking it was safe to do so.

Not so much!

The vent reappeared moments before she was about to head through the now vacant opening.

'Damnit..' she re-strung another and repeated the process, moving quicker now for good measure.

She emerged into what seemed like a supply pit just past the obstacle. She pillaged the crate for all it had. Nothing much, .. some wood, a few bottles. Salvage was salvage.. and they needed as much as they could get.

'Madness. That's what this place is.' She mused to herself again as she sat down wearily at a small campfire nearby.

Determined to make something out of what she'd just recovered she quickly went to work strengthening the strings of her bow.

She'd had a few unfortunate incidents where the string had snapped and hit her face. Leaving her with several unsightly scratches that the rest of the group had fussed about to no end. Lara had told them it was only her weapon malfunctioning, they didn't believe it though. Who would? With all the mystery the Island held.

_Time to move.._

Lara hauled herself up off the floor with a few quick movements and began her decent down the corridor again.

This place was creepy. The broken bars suggested something that once looked like a Prison cell. The raw smell of blood and sewage didn't help that thought either. The Solarii didn't seem like nice people. Why should their cages be any different?

'Wait, wait.. What do you want me to do? Please!'

Who was that? She crept closer to the opening on the off-chance she might see something of interest.

A horrid feeling seeped into her stomach.

'Don't struggle too much,'

A body was thrown in.

'And hope they kill you fast.'

'Oh god, no..' Lara couldn't help the comment that escaped her. This was all so horrible

'Please.. who are you? What.. what are you doing..' the nameless voice pleaded again.

Maniacal laughter soon followed the question as a small horde of Victims came upon the poor soul.

'No! No! Oh god.. please! Aghh!'

She couldn't stand by anymore. It took less than a second before Lara was firing arrows into the small bunker at any target she could see. She hoped she hadn't hit the Man who'd been thrown in there.

The last person alive screamed. It was a bone chilling, blood curling scream that echoed though the now silent cave.

It seemed quiet now. At least, it had been that way for a few moments. She cautiously decided to resume downward.

Arrows and bow at the ready in case anything decided to spook her.

She heard the mad nattering of someone else stuck somewhere in the Cave. She bypassed by that. If she could avoid crazy.. then she would.

Lara spotted the wheel next to the grate.

_That might be a viable way out.._

Soon she was using her Climbing Axe to move the wheel, with little success as it broke.

Another vent started up from the hole in the old piping. This could prove beneficial..

Moving again a few feet back she lined up another fire arrow and took aim at the vent.

The door blasted off its hinges and created a nice doorway. A little jagged but what did that matter. It was a way out.

The voice continued to haunt her. Now rambling something about a meal? She certainly didn't want to be that.

_Better to move off before he finds me.._

'Goddamn these caves.. surprised this whole place hasn't gone up yet.'

'Shhush..' Lara spoke to herself in an effort to keep quiet. Now was not the time to panic and blow everything. They'd obviously heard the explosion she'd just created and she needed to maneuver past them as quickly as possible.

'I might have to cap that vent in the pit again..' one of the voice spoke. It sounded resentful. Obviously not a lot of people made it by these things. Naturally, since a lot of these people seemed to be quite stupid, she wouldn't be entirely surprised if they set them off all the time with dumb accidents.

'If it's loose lets just leave it for the next shift?'

_That's right.. leave the dirty work for someone else to blow up on.. you miserable, no good bastard.._

No honor or heroics, even for their own kind. That was truly sad. Lara might not have liked everyone in her group, but she was still putting in her best efforts to make sure they all made it.

Well, mostly. She hadn't succeeded with some.

'Hey, don't take too long down there. I want to finish this game.'

'Yeah, yeah, yeah.' The other voice replied again.

'What if the unholy ones figure out how to ignite that shit?'

_Too late.. _

'Shit, alright, alright.' He replied grudgingly. It looked like their work-shove off routine wouldn't be happening tonight.

'I hate that place.'

'Look, I'll go check it out.. you can stay here.'

_Oh not a good idea.._  
_  
_The exchange between the Scavengers was starting to rub off on Lara. They really needed to move this along.

'Thanks, brother.' the weak one replied. He had to be weak. With all these guys did, for him to fear this above all else? Coward.

A Flashlight beam appeared to the left as the other one made his way back from the direction Lara came. At least she wouldn't have to deal with him.

Sneaking up on the unsuspecting Scavenger left behind proved easier than she thought it would be. With a quick snap of her reinforced bow around his neck and a quick jerk of her hands she heard the tell tale crack of his life ending.

It was a bit of a struggle, he flailed for a bit but she eventually over powered him.

'Hey! We got a problem. Get down here!'

'Alright, you bastards! I'm gonna punish you for this.'

The flickering light hanging from the roof of the cave caught her attention. It would be of more use to her if it was disabled.

A reality realized as she shot an arrow into the target. The Cave got a bit darker.

She wandered about the space briefly, trying to get her bearings.

'Hey, watch it. You're fucking up the board.'

'Relax – you're losing anyway.'

_They must be playing a game.._

'Goddamnit, not again.' A noise distracted them. One of the figures rose from the table 'I got it.' he assured the other and started to walk away.

Lara took the opportunity to plug the one left sitting in the head with an arrow, soon turning to the one walking away oblivious to the goings – on around him and quickly resolved that problem with another arrow.

It was safe to move again.

A pile of crates caught Lara's attention. On top was a Journal. Reyes.

She knew she shouldn't invade someone's personal things but she couldn't help it. She felt drawn to it.

Upon closer inspection she discovered it was a letter to Alisha, Reyes.. daughter.. about Roth.. Roth was her Father.. was this right? Reyes never mentioned anything of the sort. Certainly not to Roth. If it was true Roth would have know.

Right? Right..

Even if the question was up in the air at the moment, one thing was certain. She still needed to rescue them. This only made the task more urgent.

_It's my fault we're in this mess.. I've got to get us out.. _

Lara navigated her way through a multitude of different rooms, firing at countless faces of the Solarii Scavengers as she made her way further into the cave. She'd come across several of them worshiping dead displayed bodies. It was utterly depraved.. these people had no shame.. or value for human life.

She was just rounding a corner after making her way through a very precarious series of exploding hallways when she heard 'Keep it up, you son of a bitch.'

_Reyes.._

'When I get outta here, I'm gonna shove one those arrows right up your ass.'

_That's right.. good girl.. antagonize him.._

'Hahah! This one's got a temper.' One of the three Scavengers observed.

_Bad boy.. don't antagonize her.._

Thankfully one of the other Solarii had the same view 'Hey, don't rile them up, we're working here.'

'Goddamn, idiot.' he muttered as he started to walk away.

'This cage is kinda overkill.'

'Since the old man busted out, they don't want to take any chances' a voice responded gruffly.

'These new ones are trouble.' another surmised.

'We should just send them all to the Oni.' another suggested.

'So.. what do you think's going to happen?'

'The Sun Queen.. she's finally going to lead us off this rock.' a voice suggested mildly hopeful.

'So it's all real? I mean.. she's real?' he quickly corrected himself.

'She is. And nothing is going to stop us.'

_I wouldn't be so sure about that.._

Lara took this moment as an opportunity to get the upper hand on the situation. A Scavenger was walking past her view point and she struck him with an arrow. Taking care of the others in the room just as quickly.

She was soon met with cheers and applause as she rounded the rock heap in the center of the room and into the view of her fellow survivors.

She looked up, her eyes connected with Alex first 'That was bad-ass, Lara!' he praised her from above.

'How the hell did you get in here?' someone questioned.

Lara looked up reluctantly 'I had some help..'

When she didn't continue Reyes prompted her 'Grim?' she looked at her for confirmation.

'Yes.. he didn't make it.'

'Shit!'

There was a moment of silence before Jonah spoke up 'I didn't think anything could take that guy down.'

'He went out swinging, .. gave me a chance to get to you.' she offered, trying to lessen the blow of Grim's death with purpose.

_Grim won't have died in vain.._

'Look, there's a rescue helicopter on its way.' hopefully changing the subject to a better topic would help a little 'I know their keeping Sam separately. Have you seen Whitman?'

'Guess he didn't make it to the guest rooms.' Reyes barked bitterly. The Doctor had once again managed to separate himself from them.

'Mr. Showbiz probably weaseled an upgrade.' Alex concluded.

Jonah kneeled down 'We'll find him, and Sam too, but we're not gonna do anything from up here.'

Lara nodded 'I'll find a way to get you out.'

She began moving about the cave looking in earnest for something to help them with this.

'Alright, let's try to loosen this thing up.'

A loud metal groan reverberated around the cave 'Come on guys, again.'

'Okay, ready.. jump!'

They were shaking the confinement, but not much else.

'It's no use, Reyes..' Alex spoke.

_Always an optimist.._

They ignored him 'Ready.. jump!' Jonah echoed again.

'Goddamn it!' Reyes would be no use if she got too frustrated. She was used to having things go her way.

'Lara, there is some weird shit going on here.' Alex tried to lighten the atmosphere with some light chit-chat

'We heard them talking about a Sun spirit' Jonah chimed in again.

'Sun Queen. Ancient ruler of Yamatai.' Lara offered.

Alex paused 'You've got to be kidding me. You mean.. this is Yamatai?'

'Yes it would appear so. Hold onto something' Lara interjected. She'd been working busy in the background prying another handle off a vent system and was currently taking aim at the contents.

'Wahoo! Yeah! Yes! Wooo!' The excited shouts of Alex meant she must have done something right.

'That did it!' Reyes joined the conversation again. The cage was loosened.

'Alright. Great job, Lara.' she heard Jonah add to the end.

Lara started to make her way across the room when a huge fireball escaped the bottom of the cave and erupted mere feet from her position.

'This place is becoming unstable.. the floor is starting to buckle.' She informed them hastily.

They'd have to move quick.

'Don't worry about it Lara, just get us out of here!' Alex was always so helpful.

Jonah seemed to pick up on this 'You're doing great!'

Lara had made her way to the top of the wooden ramp on the side of the cave wall and was looking out over the floor uneasily.

'Jump over, we'll keep the cage steady.' he spoke calmly trying to steady her nerves.

She launched from the suspended cage onto the Airplane Fuselage the Scavengers were using as makeshift containment.

'Nice to see you all again.' Lara joked as she pulled herself about the top of the platform.

'Okay, now what?' Alex asked eagerly.

Reyes observed the situation for a second before instructing Lara on how to proceed 'The other counter weight. Its locked down over there.'

Lara quickly went to work firing an arrow to the left at a structure that vaguely resembled a chandelier near a vent into rocking to the right into a pile of junk hanging from the wall. This dislodged the other counterweight and everything started to sway.

She started to fall and tried to steady herself but the motion sent her tumbling off the other side of the plane and toward the floor opening up underneath them. Lara squeezed her eyes shut tight and waited for the inevitable heat.

'Whoa! Hey! I gotcha, girl!' she looked up. Jonah was clutching her forearm tightly.

Lara looked down for a moment. The entire sub flooring had given way to the Lava from the Mountain underneath.

Looking down at the molten rock she briefly thought of back home, at the local pub. How she'd like to toss the lot of College boys one night who'd suggested she start a game of tonsil hockey with Sam.

She felt herself being forced upward and shook herself from the reminder.

'Thanks, Jonah! That was close!' she breathed looking up gratefully.

'Oh shit, we have a problem! Grab hold of something! Reyes shouted as soon as Lara got a firm grip on the side platform.

'Ahh, we lost the cage floor.'

'Look down, man. We've lost all the fucking floor!' Alex yelled scared in response to Jonah.

'We gotta get outta this thing!' Jonah countered.

'Oh crap, this is bad!' Alex added again.

'Lara, you be careful out there!' Jonah warned.

She had managed to work her way across and around the cage to the top on the other side, slipping a few times but thankfully not falling. If she had, there were no open holes where anyone could have grabbed at her.

An explosion rocked the cage and she struggled a bit but basically kept her balance.

'Holy shit! Sounds like the whole mountain is going up.'

Lara spotted two pikes with vents on them across a gap while Alex continued his running commentary on the situation.

Taking a deep breath and wasting no time she took a leap for the gap and landed on the outcropping soundly.

'Oh crap, we're starting to fall.. hurry, Lara!' Alex called again.

She pried the caps off the vents in succession opening the one on her left and then moving to her right to finish the job.

She had already worked out a scenario in her head. She'd never be able to fire two arrows quick enough to get a explosion the size and power that she needed.

She circled over to the side and lifted her bow in front of her and lined up an arrow parallel to the cage.

Flicking the lighter to on she let the tip catch fire and released it into the smoke.

'Alright, this should do it. Take cover!'

It worked!

The resulting thrust pushed the cage onto the other side of the cave and up against a big landing. It provided them with enough time to escape the inside before it fell into the large pit of lava as they scrambled to pull Alex up before he went down with it.

'Thanks' Jonah called from across the gap.

'Holy shit, that was close.' Alex breathed. He was shaken up pretty bad.

'Lara, it looks like there's a way out on this side.' Reyes shouted helpfully.

'Okay, then go!' Lara called back. 'I'm going in to get Sam and Whitman!'

For one she didn't know why. For the other it was her best friend. There was no question.

As she scaled the side of a hanging crate Jonah gave her his best wishes and told her to be safe.

'Come on, let's move!' Reyes ordered.

Lara pulled herself up onto the uneven crevice ledge. She'd go in to get Sam, but then she'd have to get out again.

-I'll Stop Writing It Like This If Someone Can Help Me Figure It Out! I've Tried EVERYTHING!-

AN: :) H'okay, what'dya think? Tell me if I'm still on the right path.. I'd hate to veer off now :P I'm really getting into it! I'm thinking of dragging this out a while longer :) I have to get my head into Lara/ Alex mode.. I need more Fluff.. or smut.. either or.. – Something with those two! :O I'm determined now! I kinda found this scene in the Fire Cave needed to be done. I know I'm not the only one who ended up screaming at the TV 'I'M WORKING ON IT!' through this whole scene. I mean, talk about pressure? Let the woman work.. jeez. :P

A little note, again.. it will take me a while.. this next section of the game is.. well.. frakkin' huge and I'll need to review for a good long while. I've also done something to my left hand and it hurts to type right now so.. I've pained it out to get this Chapter for you but I need to take a small few day break.

I'm also in the works on a couple One-Shots Lara/ Larson and Lara/ Kurtis Trent. I thought the scene in the newer Anniversary game where he attacks her after the Waterfall was just too frakkin' good to pass up. The Museum/ Airlock scenes with Kurtis also kinda sparked ideas too. I mean.. come on? Even though AOD wasn't everyone's idea of a good TR Game you have to admit that those scenes were pretty intense. Or was that just me? :)


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